Most consider tech industry good for San Francisco, study says

San Franciscans dislike tech CEOs as much as they dislike Muni, but they think Muni at least contributes more to the city. (Boston Consulting Group)

The San Francisco economy is thriving under the current tech boom, though residents’ opinions of those involved in tech are still varied, according to a new study.

The survey, commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and conducted by Boston Consulting Group, interviewed 30 industry leaders and surveyed 619 San Francisco residents to track their thoughts on the tech boom.

Some key findings:

96 percent of respondents said the cost of living was the biggest challenge to living in San Francisco

73 percent of respondents think tech companies are good for the city, but only 60 percent think tech workers are good for the city

In charitable giving, 83 percent of respondents think tech companies should give back to the city, but two out of three disagree or are unsure that the companies currently do

The study also discusses how growth in venture capital has shifted from Silicon Valley to San Francisco in recent years, and how more companies are interested in having offices in San Francisco while employees are interested in living in the city as well. Companies are also pushed to offer higher salaries for employees who want to be able to live in San Francisco, where the cost of living is higher.

In a special section on tech shuttle buses, the study finds that almost all residents (92 percent) have heard of the shuttle routes. While only 5 percent of those surveyed ride a bus, 34 percent know someone who does.

San Franciscans prefer tech workers who don’t commute far: 72 percent said they think tech workers who live and work in San Francisco are good for the city, but only 43 percent approve of those who live in San Francisco but commute to Silicon Valley for work

77 percent of respondents think the buses help take cars off the road, and 59 percent think the buses are blamed for problems they did not directly create

Other findings: San Franciscans think tech CEOs are as bad as Muni, but think Muni contributes more to San Francisco, at least. Google is seen more favorably and seen as contributing more than any other tech company in the survey, though local business legacy companies like Levi Strauss and Kaiser Permanente are still more popular than Google. Read the full report here.